City and Lyon pounce as rivals slip

There was a changing of the guard at the top in England and France as Manchester City FC and Olympique Lyonnais made the most of some eye-catching setbacks for the previous pacesetters in their respective leagues. Juventus and FC Bayern München also dropped points but escaped the weekend with their leads intact, while the top trio all claimed wins in the Liga. UEFA.com looks back over the action.

EnglandChampions Manchester City are the new Premier League frontrunners after their 5-0 defeat of Aston Villa FC combined with losses for their rivals. Previous leaders Manchester United FC slipped to a 1-0 reverse at Norwich City FC, and there was disappointment too for third-placed Chelsea FC after they were downed 2-1 by West Bromwich Albion FC, who leapfrogged Everton FC into fourth. "They deserved it because they worked so hard for it," said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. "We had a lot of possession and one or two half-chances without having any great chances. It just wasn't our night." In the north London derby, meanwhile, Arsenal FC posted a 5-2 win against neighbours Tottenham Hotspur FC, who lost former Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor to a red card.

FranceLyon now lead the way in Ligue 1 after steering clear of the pitfalls that befell their fellow title hopefuls. Rémi Garde's troops helped themselves to a comfortable 3-0 triumph against Stade de Reims Champagne and duly claimed pole position ahead of Paris Saint-Germain FC, who suffered a 2-1 home reverse at the hands of nine-man Stade Rennais FC. "I don't think we showed the right attitude out on the pitch," explained PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti. "I'm not afraid to say we're in crisis. We have to get out of it quickly." Olympique de Marseille could have moved back to the top when they visited FC Girondins de Bordeaux in Sunday's late kick-off, but Yoan Gouffran secured the hosts a 1-0 win that moved them second.

ItalyFrontrunners Juventus remain four points better off than nearest challengers FC Internazionale Milano despite being held to a goalless stalemate by S.S. Lazio on Saturday. The result did not go down well with Juve defender Leonardo Bonucci, who described the champions as "angry because we are bringing home one point instead of the three we actually deserved", but Inter failed to take advantage in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Cagliari Calcio. A point behind the Nerazzurri, ACF Fiorentina climbed up to third courtesy of a 4-1 success against Atalanta BC, with SSC Napoli dropping to fourth after Stephan El Shaarawy struck twice to salvage a 2-2 draw for AC Milan in Naples.

GermanyBayern failed to win for only the second time in the Bundesliga this season as the club's former midfielder Markus Feulner earned a 1-1 home draw for ten-man Bavarian rivals 1. FC Nürnberg. Coach Jupp Heynckes was nonetheless able to make light of the result as his charges extended their lead to eight points, with closest pursuers FC Schalke 04 succumbing 2-0 at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. "We can live with the draw," said Heynckes. "After we led 1-0, we failed to get a second or a third and then the equaliser came at a bad time for us psychologically." Level on points with Schalke, Eintracht Frankfurt saw off FC Augsburg 4-2, while fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund beat SpVgg Greuther Fürth 3-1.

SpainTop dogs Barcelona maintained their undefeated start to the campaign to preserve their three point lead over Club Atlético de Madrid, as the top three sides all won. Barça made it 11 wins from 12 as Lionel Messi struck twice in a 3-1 win against Real Zaragoza, while Atlético secured a 1-0 success at Granada CF. Eight points off the pace, third-placed Real Madrid CF recorded a handsome 5-1 home win against Athletic Club. "The players made a big effort and you noticed they were tired after long trips to play with their national teams," said Azulgrana coach Tito Vilanova. "[Lionel Messi] is decisive and the great teams have great players, but he does not win games on his own."

ElsewhereFC Shakhtar Donetsk's remarkable start to the Ukrainian season finally came to an end with a 2-0 reverse at FC Arsenal Kyiv, Maksim Shatskikh and Alexander Kobakhidze halting the Pitmen's sequence of 15 consecutive victories since their campaign began. In Serbia, FK Crvena zvezda defeated leaders FK Partizan 3-2 to move within five points of their derby rivals at the top, while Legia Warszawa won the battle of the high-fliers in Poland, beating KKS Lech Poznań 3-1 to take a three-point lead in the table. Turkey's top two clubs, Galatasaray AŞ and Antalyaspor, remain locked on 22 points after both suffered home defeats, and an added-time winner from Dieudonné Mbokani helped RSC Anderlecht see off KV Kortrijk 1-0 in Belgium to cement their place at the summit.

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